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Fintech

Crypto-currencies’ strength becomes their weakness

29 Sep 2017

Freedom from regulation was the big draw of bitcoin, ether and the like. But exchanges established to trade them often lack basic controls on identity, fraud, tech and even volume. Without fixes, digital currencies will stay on the financial fringe, prone to crime and bubbles.

Crypto-currencies can’t salvage hedge-fund junkies

27 Sep 2017

One-time star manager Mike Novogratz is pinning a comeback on digital coins. Their volatility is alluring when tranquil markets are depressing industry returns. But as the former Fortress executive knows, that can be a trap. He was burned by a bad Swiss franc bet two years ago.

ZhongAn’s hit fintech IPO pushes lots of buttons

22 Sep 2017

The online insurer’s $1.5 bln Hong Kong listing turned into a blowout deal. No wonder: this is an unusual growth stock, with powerful backers and a story that should in time lure mainland investors too. Now the Chinese outfit just has to live up to its lofty valuation.

Next SoFi CEO needs both social and finance skills

15 Sep 2017

The foolish plan to keep founder Mike Cagney around amid a sex scandal has ended quickly. Whoever steps in will have to clean up the culture quickly. Growth targets also should be revisited at SoFi, last valued at $4.3 bln. Picking a woman with this talent mix might help, too.

China charges into burgeoning bitcoin battle

4 Aug 2017

The crypto-currency has been cloned, thanks to support from China's massive mining community. Although local trade has been suppressed by regulators, the People's Republic has managed to increase its influence over bitcoin's development by running the machines behind the market.

U.S.-China spat casts doubt on MoneyGram payoff

3 Aug 2017

Shares in the U.S. payments firm trade 12 pct below an offer from Jack Ma’s Ant Financial. Markets are now pricing in a sizeable risk that the Trump administration will stymie the $1.2 bln deal. That would send a nasty message to Beijing, at the expense of MoneyGram investors.

Fintech faithful put payments on a pedestal

24 Jul 2017

Shares in relative newbies Square and PayPal as well as older outfits Visa and First Data are near all-time highs. Privately held Stripe has teamed up with Alipay and WeChat. Along with Amazon, Apple and others, they’re chasing a $2.3 trln business. They can’t all be winners.

Vantiv sets punchy price on Worldpay

5 Jul 2017

Buying Britain’s biggest payments processor for nearly $10 billion only makes sense if the cost savings and revenue opportunities are big enough. While neither side has come up with any synergy estimates yet, some charitable assumptions are needed to make the sums add up.

India’s fintech marvel acquires an Orwellian tinge

26 Jun 2017

Biometric IDs have cut corruption and helped villagers get bank accounts. But the database may also hand too much power to the state, or hackers. Limiting its mandatory use, and introducing a data-protection law, will help retain faith in a system that helps speed up development.

Hong Kong needs actual fintech, not just IPOs

22 Jun 2017

The city is trying to lure hot financial technology listings. But it's a slow mover when it comes to mobile payments and e-commerce. In stark contrast with mainland China, much of Hong Kong still shops on foot and pays with paper. That reflects a broader struggle with innovation.

Ant Financial hands Chinese banks an easy win

31 May 2017

The fintech group has capped account sizes for its $167 bln money market fund, seen as a response to regulatory concern. The move won't stem shadow banking risk much, but banks will benefit from less competition in wealth management. Financial disruption in China has its limits.

Ravenous investors wolf down fintech IPO scraps

26 May 2017

Financial software group Alfa Financial is floating in the biggest UK offering this year by company value. The pricing looked rich to start with, but investors have since bid it up even higher. Blame a general lack of big listings of late, especially for the fintech-enthused.

SoftBank tests India’s taste for foreign finance

18 May 2017

The Japanese company is investing $1.4 bln into the parent of Paytm, India's top digital payments provider. The trick will be to square it with rules requiring local control of such businesses. Luckily, China's Jack Ma, an existing investor, is an expert in pushing boundaries.

Volvos plus FX trading defies even Chinese logic

11 May 2017

Geely, the Chinese owner of the sensible Swedish cars, is buying into a Danish trading platform. Mainland companies are pouring money into foreign finance and Saxo Bank’s fintech knowhow has allure. It's hard to see what use Geely’s carmaking experience will be here, though.

Goldman fintech revolution can’t come fast enough

18 Apr 2017

Only a tax break spared the $90 bln Wall Street firm a dreary first quarter. Its young online banking unit is growing fast, though. Eventually it could deliver far higher returns than the investment bank. Goldman's take on Main Street may be CEO Blankfein's best long-term hope.

Jack Ma gives rival a new way to win M&A fight

17 Apr 2017

Ant Financial's sweetened $1.2 bln bid for MoneyGram is 20 pct higher than rival Euronet's. Cost cuts alone can't justify a new counteroffer. Given Anbang's struggles to close its deal with Fidelity & Guaranty, Euronet is better off waiting to see if regulators clear the way.

Ex-Lending Club CEO’s new gig offers similar tests

6 Apr 2017

Renaud Laplanche is launching another online lender, Upgrade. He may avoid the scandal that cost him his Lending Club job. But alternative lending suffers from high costs, flighty funding and poor earnings. These give old-school banks the upper hand – if they can capitalize on it.

Global ambitions put Ant on combative M&A path

17 Mar 2017

Investors think Jack Ma's fintech group is ready for a bidding war over a U.S. remittances firm. Ant wants a global network connecting 2 bln digital wallets. MoneyGram's network and licences could help. Wisely or not, Ant is unlikely to back off on this fight, or others to come.

Jack Ma casts a shadow over JD’s fintech spinoff

7 Mar 2017

Boss Richard Liu is separating the finance business valued at $7 bln out of the e-commerce group and taking a direct stake for himself. It is less controversial than when Alibaba did the same in 2011. But there are enough similarities with this cosy deal to sound an alarm.